Tuesdays with Muerte

Hi. So, We're Both Grieving... Since you were interested in enough to open this post, I hope it isn't too presumptuous of me to say, I am so sorry for your loss. I'm serious; grief sucks. They say it's impossible to compare grief--and maybe this is my grief talking--but I am utterly embarrassed by the fact that I'm constantly thinking about losing a person who wasn't even real. (I'm sure your loss is much less fictional than mine.) The thing that gets me is that my feelings of hurt are still very real. But then I saw this TED talk by Jennifer Barnes, and it made me feel less silly. Whom I Lost I recently lost my first character, Faroughm DeBelltols—a level 3 (almost 4) Aasimar Bloodhunter — just over 2 months ago and I'm still processing my grief. (Thus, this blogpost). Denial & Isolation When my DM first told me that my character had died, I was in shock for the remainder of the session. "This isn't happening. This can't be happeni...

After 5 years long (and nerdy) years, I've decided to stop feeding my Cosplay board on Pinterest, which has more than 60,000 pins on it. Note: Unfortunately, if I unsubscribe from the board, it will disappear… The purposes of my cosplay collection were: To introduce visitors to a variety of new, fictional characters. To offer the cosplay community creative costume alternatives to traditional takes on characters. To share the joy of viewing well-done cosplay and photography by others. To provide a clean resource of tasteful cosplays, where you don't have to worry about sifting through dozens of source materials exclusively featuring scantily-clad ladies before getting to ones that you could actually wear to a party or convention. My personal purposes in creating it were to: Learn more about all the characters out there in the geek and nerd universes. Honor the creativity people put into recreating and personalizing their favorite characters. Curate a re...

General Preparation All dishes & beverages are best served in glass punch bowls or pitchers. Serving sizes: 12 Bridge Officers. Make name tags for dishes out of construction paper for those who are less familiar with interstellar cuisine. Appetizer Star Trek insignias dipped in the blood of the enemy (secret Klingon delicacy) = Cheese-covered Nachos and Salsa. ($10) Drink Romulan Ale = 7up + blue food coloring. ($4) (Alt.) Klingon Blood Wine = Cranberry-pomegranate juice + lemonade and orange frozen concentrate + sparkling lemon-lime water. (Or anything red, like Cherry Cool-aid with sugar.) ($10) Salad Moba Fruit Salad (Bajoran) = Strawberries, raspberries and julienned fresh basil. ($10) Side Neelix's 7-Galaxy Pasta (from ??) = Pasta + Tomatoes + Veggie Broth + Olive Oil + Seasoning ( recipe ). ($5) (Alt. Side) Ardanian spuds (Vegetable that grows in the clouds of Stratos) = Red garlic mashed potatoes ( recipe ). ($5)...

" Final Fantasy VII   features a vast number of memorable characters, but there are few who capture hearts like Tifa Lockhart. She can hold her own against anybody, and doesn't need an 80lb sword to do it..." —Matthew Mueller To demonstrate how universally beloved the Final Fantasy VII story truly is, I have collected Tifa cosplays from every part of the globe—Poland, Italy, Australia, Mexico, Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Japan, Germany, Brazil, England, Philippines, The United States, and France. Character: Tifa Lockhart, Square Enix Game:  Final Fantasy VII * Lady Shizuka  from Poland ( facebook )  Chiara * KiaraBerry  from Italy ( WorldCosplay ) Ri from Sydney, Australia (via  * AlchemyAllStars ) * NadyaSonika from Mexico (Space City Con 2013) ( Website ) Takai Riei from Singapore ( Website ) Kyra Kaira from Malaysia via * wkwebsite  ( facebook ) * Miss-Alice-M...

5 Acts of a Shakespearean Drama ALL his plays have FIVE acts and a varying number of scenes. A parallel exists between the number of acts and the universal law of living things: Act 1 (Introduction/Birth). Act 2 (Rising Action/Growth). Act 3 (Climax/Maturity). Act 4 (Falling Action/Decline). Act 5 (Conclusion/Death). I wanted to see how Spielberg's 2002 blockbuster, Minority Report , would be viewed through the lens of a Shakespearean drama.  SPOILERS AHEAD! 5 Acts of Minority Report What elements of  exposition  are found in Act I: We see how the Pre-cog operation works in a live occurrence. Ambitious FBI Observer/Supervisor, Danny, is shown how the pre-cogs operate, allowing the viewer to also see details of its workings. An upcoming national vote is advertised to turn the Pre-Crime experiment into a national organization. Agatha reveals the vision of her Mother's murder to John Anderton when he's all alone. We learn that John l...

"Goddess' Theme" Let's listen to this one first, shall we?  The "Ballad of the Goddess," is the main heroic theme from  Skyward Sword , and with good reason. Since viewing the game trailer for the first time, I was struck by how immediately iconic this theme felt, how it conjured feelings of adventure, purpose, and more than anything, of  motion . I totally geeked out when I saw  this  video , which reveals that the Goddess Ballad is actually just Zelda's Lullaby played in reverse. +1000 XP for AWESOMENESS! "To The Moon" Theme There's a place deep inside me that rarely gets touched, moved. Too much of life is filled with the ordinary and mundane, we are surrounded by it, we choke on it. The moment I heard these first few simple notes I was swept to that place. The music has the ability to make the world stop for that brief moment when you listen to it. "The soundtrack is all inclusive, all immersive and utterly ca...

This article is too good not to re-post.  I'm afraid that the OP's server might go down and I'll not be able access it  in the future  when I want it.  Without further delay, I present to you,  Brian Ashcraft's Totoro Isn’t All Cute. For Some, He’s the God of Death. My Neighbor Totoro  is a family favorite. Kids and adults alike love the story of two sisters in the idyllic Japanese countryside with magical creatures. But for some viewers, there's darkness seething underneath. Totoro is no cuddly critter. He's the God of Death. The reading of Totoro as the God of Death expounds on the movie's climax—a climax that has always struck me as odd for various reasons. Here is the theory, courtesy of website  cherrypistoru's  (via website  fellowof ) The rumor says that Totoro is the God of Death, so the persons that can see Totoro are actually close to death, or already dead. What that means for the story is that when Mei goes missing a...